Sony, Microsoft, other gaming services hit by network attacks

On Sunday, numerous online gaming services - from PlayStation Network and Xbox Live to Battle.net, League of Legends, and Path of Exile - were downed for varying periods of time due to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. A hacker group calling itself Lizard Squad has taken responsibility for the assaults.

Beyond causing surely millions of players frustration at being unable to access gaming services, particularly on a weekend, the story took an especially sick turn when the group tweeted a false bomb threat to American Airlines regarding the flight that Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley was traveling on at the time. In response, the flight was rerouted to another airport, and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now investigating.

As of this morning, attacks are continuing with a second hit on Battle.net and a fresh assault on Valve’s Dota 2 servers. Sony says that no data was touched on PSN, and it doesn’t appear that the hackers were trying to accomplish anything more than widespread disruption.

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SpaceX rocket explodes during flight test

SpaceX F9R

SpaceX is pushing the boundaries of commercial space flight, but with such progress inevitably comes setbacks and challenges. One such occasion came on Friday when a three-engine F9R reusable rocket (the successor to Grasshopper) was automatically terminated during a test flight once an anomaly was detected.

The rocket was detonated in mid-air to avoid potential injuries, and remained within the set flight area at all times. According to SpaceX, the test was “particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test,” and that the company will review flight details before proceeding with another such test.

Disney Infinity a free download for Wii U

Disney Infinity

In an effort to allow original Wii game owners to “upgrade” to Nintendo’s current console, the Wii U version of Disney Infinity is now available as a free download through the eShop. You’ll need the USB-connected base and figurines to actually use the game, but if you have all of that from the Wii version, you can go ahead and grab the surely better-looking game for free and play today.

Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes isn’t coming out on Wii, so this is a move to get fans entrenched on a new console and keep them invested in the series going forward. Then again, you might be able to grab the hardware and figures pretty cheaply for Wii U at this point, so it might be worth grabbing the game even if you don't have the Wii version handy.